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World Class Equestrian Triathlon at Rebecca Farm July 23-26, 2009

Release: July 20 2009

Author: severs

By Jill Redmond

Rebecca Farm Chosen as the Only HSBC FEI World Cup™ Qualifier in the U.S. for 2009

More than 450 competitors, 350 volunteers, and 15,000 spectators will converge on The Event at Rebecca Farm, July 23-26, 2009, for the only HSBC FEI World Cup™ Qualifying Event in the nation and one of nine in the world. Set on 640 acres in a vast glacial valley surrounded by mountain peaks amidst ponds, waterfalls and a creek, Rebecca Farm is widely considered one of the premiere equestrian destinations in the nation, and The Event is the biggest of its kind in the United States.

“The City of Kalispell and surrounding Flathead Valley towns look forward to this major attraction each summer,” said Pamela B. Kennedy, Mayor of Kalispell. “The economic revenue produced for our local businesses is incredible and our citizens appreciate welcoming an annual competition of this caliber.”

“The winner of the World Cup™ Qualifier will earn more points than in past events as an Olympic level qualifier,” said Rebecca Broussard, organizer of the Event. “This rule change combined with our contract as the only World Cup™ Qualifier in the U.S. should draw east coast riders who will be vying for their chance to make it to the Final in Strzegom, Poland, and are also looking ahead to the Olympics and the Pan Am Games.”

The sport of eventing is best described as an equestrian triathlon with historic ties meant to replicate what a horse and rider would go through in the cavalry. Over four days, Montana Equestrian Events, Inc., will host an equestrian triathlon with tests in the disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping for riders of all ability levels.

Dressage is designed to test obedience and the harmony between horse and rider. Cross-country is designed to test endurance with horses running long distances at high rates of speed. It also tests courage, boldness, confidence, and stamina of both horse and rider. Show jumping examines precision, agility, and technique while jumping over high obstacles and turning when the rider commands it. It is also a test of condition and focus after completing the Dressage and cross-country tests.

The horse and rider compete as a partnership in all aspects of horsemanship to complete the three tests as a team, with their cumulative performance determining their final standing. More than $60,000 will be awarded in prize money and over $35,000 in trophies and tack awards will be presented in all divisions.

Many of the returning officials and riders were part of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games last year. One of the leading designers in the world for equestrian courses, Captain Mark Phillips has again returned to Rebecca Farm and redesigned the nine cross-country courses that include three water complexes. Captain Phillips has been the United States Equestrian Team Coach since 1993 and led the U.S. eventing team to the Olympics.

“I’ve never seen the turf as good as it is now,” said Phillips. “This course is equal to any you will find in the world. You don’t get 450 horses turning up at a venue if something special isn’t going on. Competitors vote with their feet.”

Richard Jeffery, the Eventing Show Jumping Course Advisor to the United States Equestrian Federation and a record-breaking, eight-time USEF Show Jumping Course Designer of the Year, is again the show jumping course designer for The Event. Jeffery was also the designer at the Summer Olympics and has been appointed the eventing show jumping course designer for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The Event is free to spectators and visitors may walk the cross-country course along flagged alleys or watch the overall course from an elevated, large, grassy area with a great vantage point. A trade fair with arts and crafts is also offered throughout the event with a wide range of food concessions. To access Rebecca Farm, from the junction of Highw

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